Sudbury Fisher Wavy trail officially opens

Dozens attended the official grand opening of the Fisher Wavy Trail in Sudbury on Thursday.

Members of the non-profit group Rainbow Routes Association, Fisher Wavy Inc. and members of the community attended the free barbecue and guided hike.

While the trail has been open for a decade, construction and watermain improvements pushed back the official opening.

The project has been in the works since 1991, and was a collaboration between the City of Greater Sudbury, Rainbow Routes Association and multiple local businesses.

Daniel Barrette, executive director at Rainbow Routes Association, said it was a long time coming.

“Post COVID, we’re all excited to be excited to be in nature," Barrette said.

"We’re recognizing the importance of trails, so we thought this is a good time to do this finally."

Fisher Wavy contributed financially and materially to the construction of the trail, recognizing the importance of active living.

“By giving back to the community in ways that everybody can benefit from is some of the projects we really believe in,” said Malcolm Croskery, chief operating officer of Fisher Wavy.

The Fisher Wavy Trail is a 1.7-kilometre route that sees hundreds of walkers and runners each day. Barrette estimates between 120 to 170 people use the trail daily.

The route converges three trails on a local and national level: the TransCanada trail, the Lake Huron North Cycling Route and the Junction Creek Waterway. Junction Creek is an 18-kilometre route from Garson to Kelly Lake Road.

Franco Mariotti, a retired biologist at Science North, said getting out in nature is beneficial physically, mentally and emotionally.

“People underestimate how important trails are -- or at least most of us did until COVID came along,” Mariotti said.

“We realized how important it was to get outside. The beauty of a trail like this in the heart of a city. You can take a friend, you can go on your own or you meet strangers.”

He added that, due to the proximity of the trail to the downtown, it connects a mosaic of cultures in Sudbury.

“Growing up here there was the Italian section, the Polish section, the Ukrainian, and so on,” Mariotti said.

“We don’t use those titles anymore, but they’re still there. So you really are experiencing the various cultures that make up the city.”

He said the trail is a unique experience every time.

“It could be a day like this where everything is becoming beautiful. You see this tapestry of colours behind you, the light reflecting off the buildings in an urban environment. But you could come here on a totally cloudy, rainy day and it’s a very moody experience. Totally different.”

Officials say the next step is to finish the 18-kilometre trail, which is currently at 90 per cent completion. To do this, the city needs to purchase privately owned sections.